Long, winy road

After dropping out of a business program to pursue her love of wine, Li Meiyu has now become the first female Advanced Sommelier on the Chinese mainland, Li Yingxue reports.

When Li Meiyu found her first job as a sommelier in China in 2009, she was appointed to do many things, including work as a hostess-but none really leverage to her wine expertise.

Now as the first female Advanced Sommelier on the Chinese mainland, Li is opening her own studio and working as a consultant to hotels and restaurants around Beijing.

Her latest commission was to develop a wine list for the Oyster Talks restaurant in the capital, matching nine types of oysters with around 30 wines.

"It ended up being a real challenge, but pairing oysters and wine is such fun that I will continue to update the wine list with new and interesting pairings," says Li.